From Sparks to Light - Inspiring Stories for Challenging Times
From Sparks to Light is the podcast about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. These are the stories of people who are giving back in different ways. Learn what inspires them and what they learned along the way. We hope their stories inspire you to find your spark and encourage you to shine your own precious light in the world.
From Sparks to Light - Inspiring Stories for Challenging Times
The Lessons of Listening - Mark Oberschmidt
This week on From Sparks TO LIGHT we meet Mark Oberschmidt, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Thailand. He’s also a fellow peregrino and someone I’ve known since I was in high school. Mark was friends with my brother Michael and because we were so close in age, his friends were often my friends too. Fast forward 40 years - Mark was interested in walking the Camino and we reconnected when my book Estrella’s came out. As luck would have it, we found ourselves on the same journey this past summer, and we were able to reconnect face to face.
Like me, Mark felt a calling to national service. As someone who had applied for Peace Corps myself but hadn’t gone, I was interested in hearing about his experience. Like me, he grew up in Central New Jersey. I was curious about what it was like to live in a country so different from our own. What he learned while he was away. How that experience shaped what came next.
Mark is a civil engineer in Northern Colorado. He has a BS in Civil Engineering from West Virginia University and a Masters’ degree in Water Resources from Colorado State University. He’s an active volunteer in his community serving as the president of the Fort Collins International Center and a Fire Lookout for the USFS in Roosevelt National Forest at the Deadman Fire Lookout.
His passions include travel, hiking and other outdoor activities, playing in the snow, learning new languages and meeting people from all around the world. He lives in Fort Collins Colorado with his wife Nancy and his two children.
I’ve never been to a high school reunion, but the chance to catch up with someone I knew so many years ago when we were just the seedlings of who we would become was more fun than I could have imagined. I know you’ll enjoy hearing about his journey it as much as I did.
To learn more about Mark, check out the following links.
- http://fortcollinsinternationalcenter.org/
- On Facebook @mark.oberschmidt
- Email: moberschmidt@gmail.com
To learn more about Robert Maggio, the composer of our theme music, please check out his website.
To learn more about the inspiration for this podcast, please check out Suzanne's memoir, Estrellas - Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago.
Find Suzanne on Social Media
- https://www.suzannemaggio.com
- On Instagram: @mamasuzanna
- On Facebook: @suzannemaggioauthor
- On Twitter: @bottomofninth
To learn more about Robert Maggio, the composer of "Where Love is Love," our theme music, please check out his website.
To learn more about Suzanne, visit her website.
To learn more about the inspiration for this podcast, please check out Suzanne's memoir, Estrellas - Moments of Illumination Along El Camino de Santiago
Follow Suzanne on Social Media
- Instagram @suzannemaggio_author
- Facebook @ Suzanne Maggio author
- Threads @suzannemaggio_author
